A 31-year-old San Antonio man who was on Wednesday arrested outside the official Washington, D.C. residence of Vice President Kamala Harris also had a rifle and ammunition in his car, police in the nation’s capital said.
A D.C. Metropolitan Police spokesperson who spoke to CNN said officers responded “at approximately 12:12 pm, to the 3400 block of Massachusetts Avenue, NW in reference to a suspicious person based on an intelligence bulletin that originated from Texas, who was detained by US Secret Service.”
The suspect, Paul Murray, was subsequently arrested. Upon searching his vehicle, officers reportedly found an “AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of unregistered ammunition, and five 30 round magazines.”
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Murray faces a slew of charges including carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of unregistered ammunition and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, CNN reported.
Though investigators haven’t disclosed Murray’s motive, a D.C. police source told FOX 5 the suspect informed Secret Service agents he wanted to have a talk with the president. Internal police bulletins also reportedly revealed Murray was suffering from paranoid delusions and thought he was wanted by the government. He, therefore, bought the weapon in question and informed his mother he was in the nation’s capital to “take care of his problem.”
A former Army drone operator, authorities say Murray was given a medical discharge after about four years of service, adding that he had recently registered his displeasure to the police about not receiving support from Veteran’s Affairs. He had also reportedly stopped taking his prescribed medication.
An official with the Secret Service told CNN neither Harris nor the agency’s other protectees were at the Number One Observatory Circle residence at the time the suspect was apprehended.
